How Does Twain Present Racism In Huckleberry Finn
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, racism is a key theme. Throughout the novel, Twain reveals to society the evilness of mistreating another person simply because they have a different skin color. Twain masterfully shows the effects of racism on the character of Jim, a black slave and sometime companion of Huck during his journeys, by allowing the reader to feel what Jim feels when he is being mistreated. He accomplishes this empathetic move between Jim and the reader by giving accounts of Jim's mistreatment as witnessed by Huck. In the novel after Huck stages his death, he runs away to Jackson's Island only to find himself with Jim, who had also run away. After they meet, Huck asks Jim why he had run away. Jim explains that he overheard Miss Watson agree to sell him to another slave owner, an act which would separate him from his family, even though she has promised never to do so. Here, Miss Watson shows racism towards Jim by treating him like an object that can be bought and sold. The fact that Jim is a human being and has feelings doesn't even cross Miss Watson's mind, relating back to Jim being an object that doesn't carry emotions. In this instance of racism, Jim has been stripped of his humanity and is seen only something that can be used.
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After a few days on the island, Huck disguises himself as a girl and decides to go to shore.
There, he meets a lady in a store named Judith Loftus. Mrs. Loftus tells Huck about the rewards out for Jim and Pap. Huck also learns of Mrs. Loftus's husband going to Jackson's Island to look for Jim. Mrs. Loftus believes Jim is the one that killed Huck and expresses her prejudice towards him by telling her husband to hunt Jim. In this case, Jim is being seen as nothing more than animal that people are going to hunt and collect a bounty on. Once again, he has been reduced to a possession that is only good for use by another person rather than a human being in his own
right. While traveling down the river, Huck, on the canoe, and Jim, on the raft, get separated from each other in the thick fog. After a while, Huck reunites with Jim, who has fallen asleep on the raft. When Jim awakes, he is ecstatic to see Huck, but Huck plays a joke on him, telling Jim that he had dreamt the whole separation. Soon after, Jim notices tree branches and dirt on the raft from when they were separated. Jim then expresses to Huck how hurt he is because of the trick Huck played on him. Huck then apologizes, but even Huck himself is racist, stating, "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger." Here, Huck explains that he had to lower himself in order to apologize to Jim. In this way, even though Huck makes the attempt to be kind to Jim, there is still an unconscious prejudice against the other man solely due to his race. In present day society, racism is still a big issue. Many events detrimental to society have occurred involving violent acts and injustices carried out in the name of race. In 1991, a black man named Rodney King was brutally beaten by police in Los Angeles, California. King was stopped by police for speeding, and then the thrashing occurred. King laid on the ground as four police officers stood over him, striking him with their nightsticks, with four to six more officers surrounding him. This whole event was video recorded by a nearby civilian and the video was shown all over the world. This case caused many riots in the black community as it seemed evident to them that the beating was due solely to King's race, rather than any crime he had committed. Though The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn portrayed characters that both fed and tried to go around the monstrosity of racism, the undercurrent of racism in the book is still present in today's society. Twain gives voice to Jim, a black slave and a person who would not have been able to speak for himself and his condition under the circumstances during which the book was written. In today’s society, black people are no longer slaves and can speak for themselves, but there is still racism that occurs in our society.
After a few days on the island, Huck disguises himself as a girl and decides to go to shore.
There, he meets a lady in a store named Judith Loftus. Mrs. Loftus tells Huck about the rewards out for Jim and Pap. Huck also learns of Mrs. Loftus's husband going to Jackson's Island to look for Jim. Mrs. Loftus believes Jim is the one that killed Huck and expresses her prejudice towards him by telling her husband to hunt Jim. In this case, Jim is being seen as nothing more than animal that people are going to hunt and collect a bounty on. Once again, he has been reduced to a possession that is only good for use by another person rather than a human being in his own
right. While traveling down the river, Huck, on the canoe, and Jim, on the raft, get separated from each other in the thick fog. After a while, Huck reunites with Jim, who has fallen asleep on the raft. When Jim awakes, he is ecstatic to see Huck, but Huck plays a joke on him, telling Jim that he had dreamt the whole separation. Soon after, Jim notices tree branches and dirt on the raft from when they were separated. Jim then expresses to Huck how hurt he is because of the trick Huck played on him. Huck then apologizes, but even Huck himself is racist, stating, "It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger." Here, Huck explains that he had to lower himself in order to apologize to Jim. In this way, even though Huck makes the attempt to be kind to Jim, there is still an unconscious prejudice against the other man solely due to his race. In present day society, racism is still a big issue. Many events detrimental to society have occurred involving violent acts and injustices carried out in the name of race. In 1991, a black man named Rodney King was brutally beaten by police in Los Angeles, California. King was stopped by police for speeding, and then the thrashing occurred. King laid on the ground as four police officers stood over him, striking him with their nightsticks, with four to six more officers surrounding him. This whole event was video recorded by a nearby civilian and the video was shown all over the world. This case caused many riots in the black community as it seemed evident to them that the beating was due solely to King's race, rather than any crime he had committed. Though The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn portrayed characters that both fed and tried to go around the monstrosity of racism, the undercurrent of racism in the book is still present in today's society. Twain gives voice to Jim, a black slave and a person who would not have been able to speak for himself and his condition under the circumstances during which the book was written. In today’s society, black people are no longer slaves and can speak for themselves, but there is still racism that occurs in our society.